The present invention relates to a battery-operated hand-held cheese grater. More particularly, the invention relates to a hand-held cheese grater with one touch operation which automatically grates a piece of cheese forcibly retained against the grating mechanism by a spring-loaded door, such that grated cheese may be easily and efficiently deposited directly upon a substrate.
Existing cheese grater mechanisms suffer from various drawbacks related to their overly complex design. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,610,304 to Popell discloses a food-cutting machine with semi-automatic feed which comprises a dual-biased spring-loaded hinged pusher mechanism. A piece of food is placed in the hopper. The pusher is then shifted from its open resting position and towards the hopper. In this position, the pusher is forced by the spring to act against the food to retain the food within the hopper and to force it against the rotating disc blade. The blade is powered by a hand-operated crank. The entire unit is secured in a fixed location to a table surface by way of a suction base, and requires that a workbowl be placed near the blade to collect the sliced or grated food. Besides the obvious inconvenience stemming from the need to crank the blade by hand, the Popeil device is deficient in other ways. The fact that the device must be secured to a surface prevents the processed food from being conveniently added directly to a food substrate, for example while cooking or for adding to a prepared plate of food. Furthermore, the dual-biased spring results in the pusher resting in an open position, leaving the hopper open and the cutting blade exposed, with possibly dangerous results.
An existing hand-held cheese grater is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,581,790 to Del Conte, which teaches a grating device comprising a cylindrical body fitted with a stationary lower grating member and an upper grating member which is rotatable and also capable of sliding vertically within the cylindrical body. The upper grating member is attached to a rotatable shaft and is spring-loaded towards the lower grating member. The cap unscrews and the shaft and upper grating member attached thereto are all removable from the cylinder. A piece of cheese is then placed on the lower grating member and the cap replaced. The cheese is then tightly held between the two grating members. The upper grating member rotates by way of a hand crank or a motor mechanism. As the upper grating member rotates, it grips the cheese and rotates it against the lower grating member. The spring mechanism urges the upper grating member lower to constantly engage the cheese as it becomes smaller due to grating action. Again, the Del Conte device is overly complex and negates the convenience normally obtained by a hand-held device. The entire upper portion, including the cap, shaft and upper grating member must be unscrewed, removed, and then replaced once a piece of cheese has been inserted. This complicated procedure is undesirable for such a simple operation as applying grated cheese to one's food. Furthermore, the requirement for two grating surfaces results in an extra part which will need to be cleaned of debris once use has been completed.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an electric hand-held cheese grater which can be easily operated with the push of a button and from which grated cheese can be directed accurately towards a food substrate.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a cheese grater in which a piece of cheese can be easily inserted into and retained in a cheese compartment, while being forced automatically and continuously against the grater mechanism.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide a cheese grater of simple construction which is safe to use and which has a minihum of moving parts.